BJP conclave conundrum: Who will succeed Advani?

Absence of a clear line of succession after him is the reason behind LK Advani’s decision to tour the country to resurrect the party and spot young leaders, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders say. Shekhar Iyer reports.

Absence of a clear line of succession after him is the reason behind LK Advani’s decision to tour the country to resurrect the party and spot young leaders, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders say.

“It was clear when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the leader that Advani was his successor,” said a BJP functionary. “But who is Advani’s successor has been an open question. Hence, Advani’s decision has been welcomed by the party.”

Rajiv Pratap Rudy, 47, who is BJP spokesperson and a third generation leader, is happy that Advani spoke about third and fourth and even fifth generation leaders waiting for a chance to play a big role in the party.

Rudy, however, refused to be drawn into any comment about the squabble among the second generation leaders, which was seen as the main reason for Advani’s decision.

But he said Advani’s comparison of the mood in the party with a “certain train mentality” where people were refusing to give way to “promising and talented” cadres gave rise to optimism that corrective measures would follow.

Rudy said: “The internal democracy is more active in the BJP, which, unlike the Congress, does not believe in dynastic succession.”

Advani’s decision to play a more active role, BJP insiders said, might leave the second generation leaders in a state of disquiet.

Advani took stock of the post-conclave aftermath at a meeting of BJP’s core group on Monday. Despite the internal war, Advani’s own assessment is that discussions were “frank and forthright”.

The two-day conclave also saw everyone pressing for biding goodbye to aggressive Hindutva, which got prominence due to Varun Gandhi’s hate speeches.

Meanwhile, Yashwant Sinha, 71, who quit as BJP vice-president, said all his concerns about fixing accountability and transparency had not been addressed in the conclave.

The BJP’s core group is said to have discussed the discussed the issue of replacing Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri but no decision was taken.